Main menu

Whole Foods: What’s in store

Whole Foods: What’s in store

I’ll report back on my on-site sneak peek that takes place early next week, but for now, here’s what I hear:

Doors open Wednesday at 10 a.m., and since size matters, let’s start there. The place is 40,000-square-feet – that’s about the size of a football field.

What’s inside?

A couple of restaurants:

* Free Wi-Fi in the 40-seat indoor and 37-seat outdoor café with free Wi-Fi and a prepared-foods kiosk ordering system where the time-starved can speed through the ordering and paying process for items made in the Whole Foods Market kitchen using touch-screen technology.

* The Porch, a 47-seat, tavern style coffee bar and pub serving fresh brewed organic coffee, seven local beers on tap and pub food. The 100% certified organic specialty coffees will be sourced from 22 countries and 120 farms around the world and feature full service espresso and hand-crafted pour-over coffee.
The menu features stuffed waffles, hash, wings, sandwiches and daily specials.

A cooking classroom:

*The Cooking Virginia Beach department and program features butcher block workspaces, chalkboards, and touch-screen technology, where a Cooking Coach — Whole Foods Market team members with in-depth culinary knowledge — will help shoppers tackle seasonal meals at home.

* Seafood sourced locally and from around the world and certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The department also has a color-coded rating program, in partnership with Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium, which provides shoppers with sustainability status for all wild-caught seafood not certified by the MSC.